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vi List of Figures and Tables Figures Figure 1.1: Location of Rwanda. ................................................................................................................................................ 2 Figure 1.2: A three dimensional visualization of Rwanda’s relief showing the major topographic subdivisions. ...................... 3 Figure 1.3: Average annual precipitation (mm). ........................................................................................................................ 4 Figure 1.4: Mean annual temperatures in Kigali and Kamembe (1971 – 2009). ....................................................................... 4 Figure 1.5: Rwanda’s hydrological network. .............................................................................................................................. 5 Figure 1.6: The course of the Akagera River until it empties into Lake Victoria. ....................................................................... 6 Figure 1.7: Rwanda’s forest cover. ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Figure 1.8: Trends in natural forest cover. ................................................................................................................................. 9 Figure 1.9: Rwanda’s government hierarchy. .......................................................................................................................... 10 Figure 1.10: Rwanda’s provinces and districts. ........................................................................................................................ 11 Figure 1.11: Thematic overview of Vision 2020. ..................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 1.12: Trade balance trends 2005-2009. ........................................................................................................................ 19 Figure 1.13: Major contributors to Rwanda’s GDP, 2005-2009. .............................................................................................. 19 Figure 1.14: Overall performance of EDPRS targets for the achievement of MDGs and Vision 2020. .................................... 20 Figure 2.1: Population growth since 1960... .............................................................................................................................. 24 Figure 2.2: Map depicting the Kigali City’s districts and sectors. ............................................................................................. 26 Figure 2.3: Population growth trends of Kigali City. ............................................................................................................... 27 Figure 2.4: Location of Rwanda’s wetlands. ........................................................................................................................... 36 Figure 2.5: Rwanda’s wetland protection levels. .................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 2.6: Proportion of upstream area under agriculture. ................................................................................................... 39 Figure 2.7: Location of Rwanda’s key forests, including Gishwati Forest Reserve. .................................................................. 45 Figure 2.8: Mineral distribution by district in Rwanda. ........................................................................................................... 52 Figure 3.1: Map showing Rwanda’s transboundary resources consisting of water resources protected areas. ..................... 58 Figure 3.2: Map depicting the historical and transboundary nature of Volcanoes National Park. .......................................... 60 Figure 3.3: Proposed transnational railway line from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Kigali, Rwanda and Musongati, Burundi. ............................................................................................................... 73 Figure 4.1: Annualized costs of adaptation. ............................................................................................................................ 80 Figure 4.2: Adaptations for water and flood risk to infrastructure. ......................................................................................... 82 Figure 4.3: Rwanda land cover map merging ISAR-NUR forest cover map and Africover map. .............................................. 83 Figure 4.4: Spatial distribution of future woody biomass consumption. ................................................................................ 83 Figure 4.5: Balance between sustainable woody biomass production and wood fuel demand with assumptions similar to the Rwanda Environment Outlook Scenarios. ........................................... 84 Figure 4.6: Available woody biomass based on scenarios similar to Market Forces and Policy Reform Scenarios. ................ 84 Figure 4.7: Projected future distribution of land use types under the four scenarios compared with the 2007 baseline. ..... 85 Figure 4.8: GHG emissions by GHG (excluding LUCF). ............................................................................................................. 86 Figure 4.9: Historic and projected estimates of electricity generation (GWh) in Rwanda, 2005-2020. .................................. 86 Tables Table 1.1: Addressing the environmental challenges of the Vision 2020 pillars. ..................................................................... 14 Table 1.2: Progress in meeting the environment-related EDPRS targets. ................................................................................ 16 Table 1.3: Recommendations of the Rwanda State of Environment Report 2009. ................................................................. 18 Table 1.4: 2010 Mid-term review of the progress towards achieving Vision 2020 goals and the MDGs. ............................... 19 Table 4.1: Recommendations for addressing specific climate change adaptation challenges. ............................................... 81
Background and Introduction Introduction Article 3(3) of law N° 16/2006 of 03/04/2006 determining the organization, functioning and responsibilities of the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) obligates the organization to take stock of, and report on the state of the environment on a biennial basis. REMA is itself established by Article 65(1) of Organic Law N° 04/2005 of 08/04/2005 determining the modalities of protection, conservation and promotion of the environment in Rwanda. The state of environment report for 2011 is the logical follow up to the 2009 report. In keeping with the ancient Chinese proverb that a picture is worth a thousand words, the 2011 report is deliberately presented as an environmental atlas in order to make the messages both concise and compelling. Using visualization, it is possible for the reader to grasp the gist of the environmental changes that Rwanda is undergoing without the tedium associated with combing through lengthy paragraphs of text. Thus maps, graphs and photographs are combined with brief narratives to concisely tell the story of Rwanda’s environment in ways that a largely text-based report cannot. This is especially appropriate for interrogating climate change which is arguably the most challenging environmental issue of our time. Focus of the Atlas This Atlas focuses on selected environmental hotspots for which spatial data are available. It includes data on mostly terrestrial biodiversity and landscapes although some aquatic species and natural resources are covered as well. Besides the availability of before and after data, the selection of which themes to profile and map was informed by two major considerations. The first was to flag adverse environmental developments that require urgent attention in order to prevent them from spiralling out of control. The second was to showcase Rwanda’s innovative environmental policies, programmes and initiatives, many of which have won internationally acclaimed awards. Successes in implementing the plastic bags ban, in reversing massive deforestation, in instituting monetary and fiscal discipline, in attaining gender parity at several decision making levels and in harnessing ICT have transformed Rwanda into a model nation at many levels. These accomplishments essentially prove that environmental and associated development challenges can be overcome. This is especially important given the inextricable linkages between the environment, development and peace which were fully articulated at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The overarching goal of this Atlas is to show the environmental changes that are taking place in Rwanda. These are interwoven with the climate change theme with specific emphasis on the associated vulnerabilities as well as the mitigative and adaptive opportunities that arise. Tapping these will ensure a low carbon, climate change resilient development path for the country. Moreover, enhancing Rwanda’s climate change mitigative and adaptive capacities was one of key recommendations of this Atlas’ predecessor, the 2009 SOE report. The focus on climate change is also predicated on the fact that in 2001, climate hazards ranked third among the 10 top causes of poverty in Rwanda (RoR 2005). As a decade has passed since then, it is highly plausible that these climate change impacts have generally heightened rather than abated. Moreover, although Rwanda is a low-carbon economy and is one of the world’s lowest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters, it is among those most vulnerable to climate change. This is because several parts of the country such as Bugesera, the Eastern Curve, Southern Plateau and lake shore regions are already dangerously close to the water availability, heat tolerance and food security thresholds. The projected intensification of major climatic events such as droughts and floods are bound to exacerbate the associated vulnerabilities (SEI 2009). The Atlas also provides a reflection on the progress made towards attaining Rwanda’s development goals outlined in Vision 2020 and EDPRS. As elaborated in the Atlas’ Chapter One, recent monitoring through the EDPRS framework indicates that Rwanda is firmly on course to meeting its Vision 2020’s sectoral targets. Nevertheless, the evaluation results presented at the 2010 senior leadership retreat demonstrated that progress towards achieving the poverty, population and environment targets was still off-track. The analyses in this Atlas underline the urgent need to formulate and implement policy responses intended to promote environmental sustainability. Some of the strong policy responses include the integration of environment and climate change priorities in the 2011/2012 budget call circular (BCC) by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN). Further, the recent formulation of the Green Growth and Climate Resilience: National Strategy for Climate Change and Low Carbon Development (CCLCD) is also intended to ensure resilience in livelihoods and economic sectors. vii
Page 1: Atlas of Rwandaʼs Changing Environ
Page 4 and 5: Copyright ©2011, Rwanda Environmen
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Page 8 and 9: ii Preface The State of the Environ
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Page 16 and 17: x A snapshot of the surroundings of
Page 18 and 19: 2 Chapter 1: Environmental Profile
Page 38 and 39: 22 View of Kigali city. Rural to ur
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88 A motorcycle taxi in Kigali loca
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92 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recom
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